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(ModeL) E. 0. SMITH.

BELT FASTENER.

No. 338,565. Patented Mar. 23, 1886.

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UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

EUGENE 0. SMITH, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

BELT-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 338,565, dated March23, 1886.

(ModeL) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EUGENE 0. SMITH, of the city of New York, in thecounty and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Belt-Fastenings; and I hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to produce a belt-fastening moreespecially designed for use on narrow and light belts in continuousstrips containing a number of said fastenings, said strips being adaptedto be cut up into suitable lengths for the belts upon which they are tobe used by the purchasers of said strips.

The invention consists, as an article of man ufacture, in a skeletonstrip containing a number of fasteners constructed as hereinafterparticularly described, and capable of being easily separated into suchlengths as are suitable for the belts upon which it is to be used by thepurchaser of the strip, all of which is hereinafter particularly setforth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows my fastener applied to abelt. Fig. 2 is a side view of the fastener, showing also a portionofthe belt in section. Fig. 3 is a view of the skeleton strip. Fig. 4.is a side view.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the severalfigures.

A and A represent the meeting ends of a belt to be connected.

Bis my improved fastener, made of thin sheet metal, preferably ofsheet-steel, and slightly conveX,and has its edges turned over and aseries of teeth or prongs, a, formed on each. These teeth stand at anangle of about forty-five degrees, or less, to the main body of thefastener, and are slightly curved inward and formed to taper downward toa point. Enlarged openings 1) are cut out of the body of the fastener atintervals of one-half inch, more or less, and directly opposite thespaces between said teeth,which diminish the weight of the fastener, andalso facilitate the severance of the same, as hereinafter described. Theprongs a are to pass through the belt, and when in position to be flushwith the inner surface of the belt, and are not to be riveted,

but simply to slip easily into corresponding holes previously punched inthe belt.

The peculiar position and formation of the prongs, as above described,preventthem from becoming detached while the belt is at work, but permitthem to be readily withdrawn whenever desired. The fastener can thus beapplied and removed by slipping the prongs into the holes (previouslyprovided) or out of the same, respectively, and the fastener can thus beapplied and detached without injury to the belt.

It is my intention to manufacture and sell these fasteners in continuousskeleton strips B, (see Fig. 3,) containing a number of the same, to beseparated in such lengths as may be required by the purchaser wheneverdesired. For this purpose the enlarged openings b, formed in thefastener opposite the spaces between the teeth, are especiallyadvantageous, as the out can be made through any one of them, and thereis but little metal to cut through in detaching the length required, andthe manufacture in a continuous skeleton strip, detachable, as abovedescribed, forms a convenient mode of supplying them to the public,inasmuch as the desired length can easily be separated by the dealer orpurchaser at any time.

I do not claim as my invention a belt-fastener consisting ofa platehaving teeth or prongs formed on its edges and turned downward orpunched from the meta-l, or formed thereon at a distance from the edges,and passed through the belt and riveted or clasped on the under sidethereof; nor do I claim as a belt-fastener a plate having teeth orprongs which partially penetrate the leather, said plate secured to theleather by separate rivets passed through the same. None of these canaccomplish the ob jects of my invention, as the fasteners are attachedpermanently to the belt, and could not be removed without injury to thesame.

By my improvement, as herein described,

the fastener can be applied to and removed 5 from the belt by hand andwithout injuring it in the least degree, as there are no permanentfastening devices, and the inclination of the teeth is such that theywill hold the plate firmly in its position while the belt is upon IOOlarged openings along its center at points opposite the spaces betweensaid teeth, whereby the strip may be readily cut into fasteners ofsuitable lengths on transverse lines passing :5 between the teeth andthrough said openings, substantially as described.

- EUGENE SMITH.

Witnesses:

CHAs. BUsToN,

JOHN S. THORNTON;

